This discussion points toward what should be an obvious by-product of
breeding (i.e. human selection for various traits).  If we look to virtually
any example of human breeding programs, we see a REDUCTION of genetic
information, and a resultant loss of overall vigor and long-term
survivability.  This is exactly why cultivated fruits and vegetables, as
well as pure-bred dogs & horses are so fussy and needy of human care.  Most
breeding programs rely on line breeding techniques, which are, in essence,
in-breeding.  This is necessary to isolate desireable traits.  The problem
is that by isolating observable, desirable traits, we usually eliminate
unseen, and possibly necessary traits that contribute to overall vigor and
survivability (and often thereby amplify other clearly undesirable traits).
In fact, we trade one problem for another (or maybe three).  It is a classic
case of 'man knows best' when man doesn't really know diddly.

I'm not condemning breeding as such, since a great many desirable plant
cultivars and animal breeds are the results of such breeding.  However, we
must recognize the inherent negative effects of such breeding, and their
potential effects on beekeeping.  Our understanding of the genetics of any
creature is analogous to having a vocabulary of twenty words and trying to
read the entire Encyclopedia Britannica  Accordingly, the bee genome
consists of about 300,000,000 amino acid base pairs of DNA (very little of
which is really 'understood').  By contrast, there are approx. 183,000,000
characters in the entire set of Encyclopedia Brittanica.  This means that
the DNA in every bee cell contains about twice as much highly organized data
as an entire set of Encylopedia Brittanica.  To think that we believe that
we know how to 'properly' organize this data better than what (or who)
created it, seems me to show considerable hubris.  Maybe it's time to take
some lessons from mother nature?

Regards,

Todd.

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